An Unholy Alliance : Season of Madness
by Avirra
Summary: AU Mirror Verse : Between a power-hungry Admiral trying to use the ISS Enterprise to aid his own agenda and a First Officer who is acting strangely, Kirk has his hands full. Fortunately, he's not in this alone. Some cursing/some violence (this is Mirror Verse, after all). See Author's Note at start of Chapter 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** As a note, in my version of the Mirror-verse, the emphasis is on political maneuvering and manipulation rather than on violence and sex - though violence and sex are present and both certainly have their places. Think in terms of more Machiavelli and less Caligula. However - this is the Mirror-verse. While the descriptions of what is going on will remain within a 'Teen & Up' rating level, there may be some who may view some of the subject matter as too intense - to those, I would advise to stop reading at this point, but if you've read either the Harry Potter or Twilight series (both usually rated as Young Adult literature), you've read equal or worse than what's present in my stories. While I will maintain my goal to keep graphic material to a minimum, I don't want to white-wash or dilute the fact that all-in-all, the Mirror-verse is not a nice place. All clear? Then on with the show:

* * *

Kirk stormed into Sickbay as all the crew in his path scattered to get out of his way. Even on a good day, any crewmember aboard the ISS Enterprise took care to stay out of their Captain's chosen path. On a day when Kirk was in a foul mood? It was suicidal not to run in the other direction.

As the Sickbay doors closed behind Kirk, in total contrast with the rest of his staff, McCoy remained quietly at his desk, not even seeming to notice his captain's dramatic approach. That illusion evaporated when Kirk was within arm's reach of the desk.

McCoy looked up and met the force of nature that was Jim Kirk head on, as calm as if Kirk had just wandered in to ask him for a drink.

"Bad meeting with the Admiralty, I presume? Come into my office before my entire staff locks themselves into the supply closet."

McCoy got up then and led the way to his private office with Kirk following him without a word being spoken. Some of the medical staff admired the nerve of their CMO - some of them thought their CMO was a fool to lock himself in a small room with an angry Kirk. None of them wanted to be the CMO at that moment.

Once Kirk was inside the office, McCoy called out an order.

"Computer - voice lock on CMO office - security level Delta."

"Affirmative. Security level Delta in place."

Pouring a drink for Kirk, McCoy hesitated to speak as he passed it over. It didn't go unnoticed by Kirk despite his bad mood. Downing the drink, he immediately handed the glass back over McCoy.

"Admiral Komack has ordered us to head immediately to Altair VI. An inauguration ceremony for a petty tyrant on a petty world and the Admiral's ordering every remaining ship to be in attendance for the ceremony like it has any real importance. You know what that means?"

Holding the empty glass gingerly, McCoy briefly wondered it that had been a rhetorical question. Not wanting to let the silence hang, he answered it any way.

"Pretty sure. Sounds to me like the Admiral wants to be seen as being the one that's holding the leashes to the Empire's meanest dogs."

"That's how it sounds to me too, Bones. Give me a refill."

After filling the glass, McCoy passes it over and waits quietly for Kirk to continue. He knows Kirk will eventually remember that he'd been asked to come down prior to the Admiral's ill-timed call.

Retaking the glass and immediately drinking about a third of it, Kirk begins to grumble again.

"Komack wants to get a higher profile. Get in the Emperor's radar and wants to use us to help him do it. Pike's almost healthy enough to make a move again. We can't let Komack get an advantage in over him."

Leaning against his desk, McCoy headed into dangerous territory.

"I don't see how we can avoid the order, Jim. Not without a reason that would fly with the Emperor for insubordination. Unless, of course, you already have a plan?"

Another third of the drink went down Kirk's throat.

"Not a feasible plan. Not yet, at least, but hell. The day is young."

Emptying the glass, Kirk passed it back to McCoy again.

"I seem to recall you requested a meeting earlier today. Give me another refill and tell me what it is that's on your mind."

The drink was refilled and offered back as McCoy tried to think of the best way to approach what could be a more volatile topic than the Admiral. Kirk sat down in one of the chairs, holding his drink, but not even sipping from it as he watched McCoy. Whatever had the doctor almost ready to pace? Well, it had Kirk's curiosity piqued.

"Come on, Bones. Spit it out."

McCoy pretty much did as ordered. The two words were blurted out.

"It's Spock."

The blue eyes narrowed. The two words only give him the who and not the what, so Kirk silently waited for McCoy to elaborate.

Now the pacing began and McCoy ran one hand through his hair for good measure.

"It's time for Spock routine checkup and he's missed his physical and rescheduled it three times. After he missed his fourth appointment this morning, I went to him to ask what the problem was. He shoved me into the bulkhead and told me to mind my own damn business before he broke my damn neck. And that swearing was his wording, not mine."

It was no secret that Spock had a temper if provoked, so the attack itself didn't surprise Kirk, but the reason for it? It sounded like something was missing from the story.

"Are you sure you didn't do more than ask about why he missed his appointments"'

"Didn't even raise my voice more than usual, Jim."

"And you aren't exaggerating about his reaction a bit?"

To Kirk's surprise, McCoy turned and pulled off his shirt without another word. The back of his left shoulder was already lividly bruised and, when McCoy turned back around to face him, the mark on the front of his shoulder had plainly been left by a hand.

"This look like an exaggeration to you?"

Letting out a low whistle, Kirk moved closer to take a better look.

"No. In fact, for once, I'd have to say you were understating his reaction. He dislocated your shoulder, didn't he?"

Oddly, McCoy seemed reluctant to admit that, but finally nodded. Kirk gave a melodramatic sigh.

"I thought the two of you had gotten past the violence stage. You know I have to booth him for this, Bones. I can't have my officers attacking each other unless I ordered it."

Things took an odder turn then as McCoy turned a practically pleading look to Kirk.

"You don't have to. Only the three of us know it. I managed to get my shoulder back in myself. Jim, something's wrong with him. Physically wrong. I'm certain that's why he's been evading his exam."

Thoughtfully looking at his glass, Kirk swirled the remaining liquid in it once before downing it.

"Spock sent me a message requesting time off at the Vulcan colony. Think the two are related?"

"Bound to be. When does he want to be there?"

"Basically? Now. This crap from Komack means he'll have to wait until after the inauguration though."

When Kirk mentioned the request to go to the Vulcan colony, fleeting images from the memories of the elder Spock had begun to tease the edges of McCoy's thoughts. Then one memory struck like a flash of intuition and McCoy began to think he knew what the problem might be.

"Jim? What if Spock can't wait?"

Growling, Kirk leapt up like a cat, grabbed his CMO and shoved him against the nearest wall, deliberately pressing against the already bruised shoulder.

"You know something, don't you? Well, what is it?"

The pain McCoy felt from having his injured shoulder slammed into again had an effect that Kirk hadn't been after. His CMO threw up on him.

Backing away with a look of disgust aimed down at his soiled uniform, Kirk cursed.

"Dammit, Bones! What is it with you and throwing up? And what the hell do you eat? This reeks!"

One hand going to his sore shoulder, McCoy gave a glare back.

"If you hadn't decided to be so damn impatient, it wouldn't have happened. Go get under the damn sonics. Stuff looks worse than it smells and that's saying something."

McCoy's attitude broke the tension and Kirk started laughing as he moved toward the small sonic shower unit in McCoy's inner sanctum.

"Sorry, Bones. Admiral got under my skin more than I should have let him. Have one of your blood-thirsty nurses tend to your shoulder while I clean up. Now it can be blamed on me instead of Spock."

Shaking his head while muttering something under his breath, McCoy had the security lock deactivated, relocked it behind him, then called on Chapel to give him a hand with his injuries. The rest of the staff took a quick glance at their chief's injured shoulder and quickly found other places to be. Chapel just pursed her lips and started to work, not speaking until the hum of the equipment would cover her whisper.

"This bruising is too developed to have just happened."

McCoy's looked up and held her eyes as he spoke.

"Keep that little fact to yourself and I'll filet the next corpse in any way you like then leave you alone with it for an hour."

He knew he had a deal when she had to pause to swallow her drool before nodding.

"Everyone in Sickbay saw how the Captain stormed in and how you diverted him into your office. After I finish treating you, they'll know that you gave the Captain an outlet on someone other than them. Could we make that two hours?"

McCoy gave a slight smile back to his nurse as he relaxed down onto the biobed to start the repairs.

"Two hours is doable."

Under the sonics, Kirk finished regaining his composure and reflected that it was a good thing that he and McCoy already understood each other so well. Otherwise, his anger might have damaged their relationship. He began to muse then over what could possibly be going on with Spock and whether or not it might be something they could use to bring Spock in tighter to them.

Spock was a tough nut to crack. He was going along with them so far, but the Vulcan's interactions with McCoy were strained, to say the very least. If Spock started to contribute as whole-heartedly as McCoy did? They could go from being highly formidable to damn near unstoppable with Pike watching their backs from Headquarters.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Kirk turned off the sonics and pulled on a new uniform. As many times as he came to Sickbay, Kirk had taken to keeping a spare uniform in the office and this was far from the first time he'd made use of it.

There was still a sour smell in the office, so Kirk overrode the security lock and moved over to where Chapel was finishing up her work on McCoy.

"Someone needs to be sent in to clean the Doctor's office. Pick whoever is on your bad side, nurse."

Chapel knew a dismissal when she heard one. She only took enough time to turn off the equipment before leaving the two men alone.

"Come on, Bones. I want some privacy, a strong drink and a story. Not necessarily in that order. Your office stinks, so we'll go to my quarters."

Pleased that McCoy didn't hesitate to take his hand when Kirk extended it to help him up, Kirk smiled and laid a hand across McCoy's shoulders, though this time he was careful not to put pressure on the newly repaired area. The walk to the Captain's quarters was made in companionable silence for once.

After Kirk entered his security code and they entered, Kirk frowned.

"We need to add eating to the list. Let's see if we can talk the replicator into something resembling actual food."

"I'll fight with the replicator, you get the drinks, Jim. Remember the old Vulcan that took out Nero for us?"

"How could I forget? What about him?"

"Remember I told you that he mind-melded with me? Well, seemed that the McCoy he knew wasn't closely associated with a Betazoid."

"So? The other . . you didn't have sense enough to get a Betazoid nanny. What's that got to do with anything?"

Placing plates down on the table, McCoy chuckled.

"That Spock wasn't expecting me to be at ease with mental connections. I surprised him enough that I was able to wiggle past some of his shields and see a few things. Caught a glimpse of a few of his memories with the other McCoy and Kirk. I don't have details because the memories seem fuzzy. Almost like the old Spock was remembering something from a fever dream. It was some sort of Vulcan ritual where that Spock and Kirk were fighting over a Vulcan woman in front of several Vulcan spectators and myself. Well, the other McCoy."

Scoffing, Kirk shook his head.

"Why the hell would I fight for a Vulcan bitch? I have more than enough women on board."

"Like I said, I have no details, but I have the impression it was to save a life. Possibly Spock's."

Settling into his chair at the table, Kirk passed over a drink to McCoy before leaning back.

"So it was the three of them together there. Do you think they were a unit like we're trying to form?"

"I don't think so - I know so. I have a feeling it was this fight that solidified something."

"Fine. First we eat, then we pay a visit to Spock. I want more answers and fewer questions."


	2. Chapter 2

Spock's quarters, usually pristine to the point that they could have been used as a textbook example for recruits, were a mess. When he had felt the first stirrings in his blood, Spock had hoped he was wrong about the cause, but quickly packed away anything that he would regret losing in case he was right. It proved to be a good instinct because nearly everything that remained in his room that could be smashed had been by this point.

In his current frame of mind, Spock's first inclination when his door alerted him to a visitor was to tell whoever was at his door to go throw themselves out an airlock before he did it for them. On finding the one requesting entrance was the Captain, he curbed that reaction. He almost changed his mind though when Kirk entered and brought McCoy with him.

Any remaining thoughts that Kirk might have harbored that McCoy was exaggerating disappeared as he looked over his First and saw how tightly the half-Vulcan was holding himself in check. As McCoy remained near the door, Kirk casually ordered the door locked under command protocol, Captain's authority only. The twitch Spock gave at hearing that was quickly suppressed, but not quickly enough to escape Kirk's notice.

Keeping his voice smooth, Kirk approached Spock, but carefully stayed slightly out of arm's reach.

"So, Spock - Doctor McCoy tells me you have had trouble making your appointments for your physical."

A hard cold glare focused on McCoy.

"My apologies that the Doctor has bothered you with this matter, Captain. I thought I had made it abundantly clear to him the repercussions of such an action."

"I went to him, Spock. Do those repercussions apply to me now?"

The fact that what Kirk had gone to McCoy for was to complain about the Admiral was beside the point. Whatever it was eating Spock, Kirk wasn't going to let him take it out on McCoy. Spock stood straighter, shifting his gaze away from McCoy, but not meeting Kirk's eyes.

No, sir. I regret my misinterpretation of the events. Sir - I must ask if my request for leave at the Vulcan colony has your approval."

"You have my approval, but orders have come down from Admiral Komack ordering our ship to attend an inauguration ceremony. After that is over, we'll be able to get you there."

The sharp intake of breath from Spock has Kirk casting a glance toward McCoy. The doctor was still by the door, leaning against the bulkhead with one hand behind his back watching everything with an eagle eye. Catching Kirk's eye, McCoy raised a brow slightly then shifted his focus to Spock.

"Mister Spock, does the term 'pon farr' mean anything to you?"

For a moment, it was as if Spock froze to the point of not even breathing. Then, with no warning, he gave out an animalistic yell and lunged for McCoy. Kirk was too startled to react, but McCoy must have been expecting a violent reaction, The hand that had been behind him held a phaser and he fired it at close range into the Vulcan without hesitation. Even so, Spock almost made it to him before he collapsed to the deck.

Kirk looked from the body on the deck up to McCoy, who was in the process of putting away his phaser and pulling out his tricorder.

"Still think I'm exaggerating, Jim?"

"I stopped thinking you were exaggerating the moment I got a look at this room. Speaking of which, nice shot or you probably would have been added to the wreckage."

"Yeah, I knew I was poking a sore spot. If the mellow version of our Vulcan got bent out of shape over pon farr? That's why I came armed. Now, while he can't argue about being examined, let's see what all we're actually dealing with, shall we?"

Moving closer to Spock, McCoy scanned the unconscious Vulcan, frowned, readjusted his equipment and scanned a second time before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"I wish I knew more details from that crazy old Vulcan than just a few random words and images, but I can tell you this. Whatever this pon farr business is? It's apparently killing him. Slowly, but surely."

Kirk was far more curious than concerned.

"Really? How long would you say he has left?"

"Hard to say. His crazy half and half biology is one of a kind, so far as I know. But educated guess? I'd say five to eight days with the mid-range being most likely. Might want to back up a step. I think the damn hobgoblin's already shaking off the stun and I had it at the highest level."

At McCoy's warning, Kirk stepped back, pulling out his phaser as he did so. McCoy looped the strap of his tricorder back over his head and redrew his own phaser as a sound resembling a feral growl came from the recovering First Officer.

"As your Captain, I strongly suggest you not make any sudden movements, Spock. Otherwise you'll put me to the bother of having to find a replacement."

The eyes Spock turned toward Kirk were darker than usual and reminded him of a shark he'd seen once. Dark, shiny and cold like black ice.

"I could hear even though I was down, Captain. Now or eight days from now - what is the difference? Now would be . . . more merciful."

"Can't say that I'm overly know for my merciful side, Spock. Bones? You're the one whose neck was threatened. What do you say?"

"I say that I doubt you'll ever find another First Officer whose best interests mean keeping you in the Captain's chair."

It was very obvious now that Spock's grip on his emotions had slipped as he showed plain astonishment at McCoy's words.

"No need to be so damned shocked. I don't have to like you to admit that we can play off each other's strengths. You're what's best for Jim and this ship. That trumps everything else in my book."

Kirk looked from McCoy to Spock thoughtfully.

"No way in hell can we get him to the other Vulcans in time and follow Komack's orders. Then again, I don't want to follow Komack's orders. Bones? Think the Emperor would buy a medical emergency as a reason for missing the inauguration?"

"Maybe, maybe not. If the Emperor's attention is drawn to what Komack is doing and he didn't approve of it? In all honesty, I think everything would hinge on if Komack is in the Emperor's good graces or not. No way for us to know that, unfortunately."

Humming to himself, Kirk made weighing gestures with both hands.

"If we go along with Komack's orders, we possibly weaken Pike's position in the court and lose our First Officer. We go against orders, we keep our First Officer, but possibly chance the Emperor declaring us as mutinous."

After a moment of silence so deep that Spock's breathing was the loudest thing in the room, Kirk reached over and activated the intercom.

"Kirk to Bridge. Sulu."

"Aye. Captain?"

"Lay in a course for the Vulcan colony."

"At once, sir."

"That is all. Kirk out."

Turning back to McCoy, Kirk's grin was insolence personified.

"Screw Komack."

"Not unless I hose him down with a strong disinfectant first, Jim."

Spock has maneuvered into a seated position on the floor and seemed to be struggling to figure out exactly what was going on. His brows were nearly meeting above his nose when he finally conceded defeat and looked Kirk straight in the eye.

"Why?"

"Why what? Why have I chosen you over Komack? Part of it is curiosity. We're taking you to the colony, so you're going to pay for the trip by filling in the blanks. So - what is this pon farr stuff and why has it put your health in jeopardy?"

For a second, Kirk thought Spock was going to refuse, but only for a second. The Vulcan's shoulders slumped before he spoke softly.

"It is a matter highly guarded among my people even before the loss of our planet. It has long been feared that the Emperor would view it as a weakness and an excuse to commit genocide on the Vulcan race."

McCoy had resettled himself into a leaning position by the door again, still holding his phaser, but not aiming it. After a moment to let Spock's words sink in, he spoke again.

"It's not a social custom, is it? It's something hard-wired into your damn DNA."

Closing his eyes, Spock gave one brief nod.

"Correct, Doctor. Pon farr is a biological throwback in Vulcan evolution."

The image of the woman being fought over came to McCoy again.

"A breeding imperative? Like salmon being forced back to their home streams to spawn?"

Kirk started to snap at McCoy to be serious, but then saw the green flush darkening Spock's skin and his mouth literally dropped open for a moment.

"Seriously? You're compelled by your bodies to go breed or die? No wonder the Vulcans have hidden that from the Empire."

It was a day of surprises for Spock as McCoy spoke again, this time with genuine sympathy in his voice.

"Work with us here, Spock. We could end up executed for disobeying orders to help you, but I think you're worth that risk. Jim?"

"If I didn't think that, I wouldn't have ordered the course set. Reporting the . . . quirk of Vulcan reproduction to the Empire isn't in our best interests."

Of course, when the day came that Kirk was able to take power himself came? That information could come in very handy. Even more so if he had McCoy do some research to look for a way to trigger pon farr artificially. He could talk to his CMO about that after this was over. For now, he gave Spock a speculative look.

"Now that you know we're headed for the Vulcan colony, will you be able to keep yourself under control or do we need to relocate you to the brig for safety until we arrive?"

"While I do not believe the brig is necessary, confinement to my quarters until our arrival would likely be wise. The more time that passes, the more likely my control is to slip."

Kirk smirked.

"Sure. What the hell? You've already broken everything in here. Why tear up a brig cell as well? Once Bones and I leave, I'll relock it under my authority. Try to go around that and I'll fall back to the 'merciful' option and try to make it to the inauguration in time. Are we clear?"

"Quite clear, sir."

"We'll be back for you once we're in orbit over the colony. Oh - and we'll be accompanying you to the surface."

"Captain, I do not want -"

Kirk cut him off with both voice and gesture.

"What you want is beside the point, Spock. I'm putting a lot on the line over this pon farr business. The three of us go or none of us do."

With a sound that sound much like a sigh, Spock lowered his head and conceded the argument to Kirk. Satisfied, Kirk headed for the door - though McCoy noted that he wisely never put his back to the Vulcan. Releasing the lock on the door, the two of them exited before Kirk resealed the outer door under his verbal authority.

"You're coming with me to the Bridge, Bones. After we find out how long we have until we reach the colony, you and I are going to spend that time in the ready room. You're going to tell me everything you can remember from that old Vulcan."


	3. Chapter 3

The absence of the First Officer did not go unnoticed by the Bridge crew nor did they fail to notice the lengthy meetings between their Captain and their CMO. None of them felt suicidal enough to bring up the subject however.

Of all of them, only Uhura knew of the orders from Komack as she had been the one to receive the initial transmission. She kept the knowledge that they were disobeying orders to herself though. Being an integral part of Kirk's crew had brought her far more gains than she could ever hope for on another ship, so she was willing to gamble that Kirk knew what the hell he was doing. The fact that McCoy was going along helped soothe her concerns about that decision.

Only Sulu tried to question Spock directly, scowling as he found the First Officer was confined to quarters under the Captain's authority, which he could not circumvent. McCoy saw him at Spock's door and, after a moment of annoyance, his eyes lit up in amusement. This could work well for them. Staying far enough away to avoid a strike, McCoy spoke up to let Sulu know he'd been seen.

"Trouble there, Mister Sulu? I wouldn't advise trying to get in, you know."

Startled and angered that he had been so caught up in speculation that he had failed to notice McCoy's approach, Sulu snapped back.

"Kirk made me head of Security. If there's been an arrest, I should have been informed."

McCoy gave a casual glance around to ensure they were still alone, then motioned for Sulu to follow him. After a brief hesitation, Sulu complied and went with McCoy into one of the conference rooms. Once they were inside with the doors shut, McCoy turned to face him.

"It's not an arrest. It's a quarantine situation. Jim and I made the call to keep it to ourselves to prevent a possible panic over an unknown condition being on board."

Sulu's scowl faded as he processed that.

"It's a Vulcan disease of some sort?"

"It's a condition I've only heard of in Vulcans, but where the hobgoblin has human blood, who knows if it might be able to affect one of us or not? Safer to keep him isolated from the rest of the crew until we can get to the Vulcan colony and get it taken care of."

"I still should have been informed."

"Wasn't my call to make, Lieutenant. You want to go tell the Captain he screwed up in his current mood? Be my guest."

After a moment, Sulu dropped his bluster. McCoy was right - as CMO, he only answered to the First Officer and the Captain. Complaining to the Captain over something like this? Not worth gaining another scar over. He and Kirk got along for the most part, but when Kirk decided someone had overreached their boundaries, he made sure to make the lesson memorable. In Sulu's case, the reminder of his lesson was the long scar that ran along the right side of his face. Not that Sulu blamed Kirk. If someone else had tried to pull on him what he'd tried to pull on Kirk, Sulu would have gutted them. In a way, the scar showed that the two of them had reached an understanding.

Seeing McCoy watching him warily .while fiddling with a hypospray that Sulu would have sworn was not in the doctor's hand a minute ago, told Sulu had been silent too long for McCoy's comfort. Reaching up one hand, Sulu ran a thumb along his scar.

"I don't think this would be worth bothering the Captain over. After all, it looks like the two of you have the situation under control."

The hypospray remained, but McCoy wore an unconcerned smile that did nothing to settle Sulu's nerves. While McCoy was dangerous in his own right - probably in the top five of the most lethal persons on the Enterprise - there was the added danger that Kirk had let it be well known that he would consider any strike against McCoy to be a strike against him. And James T. Kirk did not take strikes against him lightly.

The silence held for another minute before McCoy broke it, his drawl unnaturally thick.

"That sounds like a fine idea there, Lieutenant. 'Cause you want to know a little secret?"

Sulu couldn't help but hesitate, but finally he gave a slow nod and McCoy's smile grew larger. His voice lowered and the smoky tone it took on had Sulu fighting to suppress a shudder as he listened.

"As much as the Captain gets a bit pissy when folks poke into his private affairs? Ol' Spock makes him look like little Mary Sunshine if he thinks someone's putting their nose into his business. So as a piece of friendly advice, don't be using the word 'sick' where those pointy ears might hear it and trace it back to you. Otherwise, your head and your spine might come to a parting of ways. It's a medical study I'd like to do sometime. Strong as a Vulcan is normally? When they're mad, it's a damn sight more impressive, son."

With those words, Sulu's mind went immediately to the last landing party he and Spock had both been on. A group of rebels had attacked and he remembered very vividly what had happened when Spock got his hands on the leader. With no more emotion or thought than he would have used to step on a bug in passing, he had snapped the rebel's neck like a rotted twig before casting him aside as so much garbage. If that was how the Vulcan dealt with nuisances when he was calm, Sulu didn't want to be on the other end of his anger. Taking a deep breath to shake off those thoughts, he gave a curt nod to McCoy.

"Thank you, Doctor. I will take that under advisement."As Sulu saluted and moved away, the hazel eyes seemed to flicker between reptilian green and gold as McCoy watched until he was out of sight. Then and only then did his hypospray return to its hiding place as he muttered to himself.

"Under advisement. Yeah - you do that. Keep it up and the left side of your face will end up matching the right."

And McCoy had just the nurse for the job. Chapel might get her jollies from autopsies, but little Channing had a serious fixation for scars. She had made some real works of art out of some of them. His diverse and talented staff - McCoy did love his lethal ladies. Most of the crew feared them far more than they feared him, which suited him just fine.

Looking toward Spock's door, he briefly debated asking Kirk to unseal it long enough to check on the Vulcan, but quickly decided against it. There really wasn't anything the doctor could do for Spock in his current condition any way.

Smiling as he made his way back to Sickbay, McCoy was pleased to see most of the crew giving him a wide berth. Without looking like he was paying close attention, McCoy carefully made note of those that didn't. He'd be scheduling them for an 'extra-special' physical in the near future. Personnel that got too comfortable when he was around needed to be reminded of the pecking order.

Back on the Bridge, Uhura discreetly informed the Captain of the incoming transmissions from Komack. With equal discretion, he let her know that he would approve the upgrades she and Scotty had been dreaming up in exchange for those transmission being lost in transit. Smiling, she made the appropriate changes on her panel and then spoke up for the benefit of the rest of the Bridge crew.

"The Vulcan colony has acknowledged our signal. They ask that we contact them with Commander Spock present when we establish orbit."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. That reminds me. Contact Mister Scott. He informed me there was some standard maintenance he needed to perform on your station. Tell him as long as they don't interfere with our communication to the Vulcan colony, he can begin whenever he has a moment."

"At once, sir."

There was an undertone that was almost a purr in Uhura's voice that amused Kirk. He was starting to understand why McCoy like to indulge his nurses.

With no transmissions from Admiral Komack to bother him, the rest of the journey to the Vulcan colony passed peacefully for Kirk, though a few of the side glances Sulu was sending his way were about to strain his last nerve. He knew Sulu eventually wanted his own command and Kirk wished on him exactly the same sort of helmsman that Sulu had been for him.

Over at the Communication station, Scotty was busy at work. More truthfully, half busy. He was spending as much time studying Uhura's legs up close as he was modifying the work station. Since Chief Engineering hadn't annoyed Uhura to the point where she stabbed him, Kirk opted to ignore that. He had other things to keep his mind busy, such as trying to think of ways to explain his actions to the Emperor's representative.

Chekov's voice broke into his thoughts. He scowled slightly at the way he'd allowed his attention to wander for so long.

"Captain, we will be entering orbit within the hour."

"Good. Mister Scott?"

It was with great difficulty that Kirk kept a straight face when Scotty answered him while his face was framed by Uhura's legs.

"Aye, sir?"

"Pause what you're working on for now and watch the store for me."

"Aye, Captain."

With a smirk firmly in place, Uhura moved slightly to the side so that Scotty could maneuver back out. Kirk was smirking a bit himself as he left the Bridge. Once inside the turbolift, he contacted Sickbay.

"Bones - we'll be arriving shortly. Meet me at Spock's quarters - the Vulcan colony has requested him to be present when we contact them."

McCoy had already been getting ready after having gotten a signal from Chekov. He wasn't sure why, but ever since Chekov had been his bodyguard on the Academy campus, the young Russian had gone out of his way to keep McCoy abreast of what was going on. Not that McCoy was complaining about it, but it did make him curious about what Chekov might eventually be expecting in return.

"On my way, Jim. Let's hope we didn't make this trip for nothing."

Kirk had barely made it to the door of Spock's quarters when McCoy arrived. Watching with detached amusement as the doctor readied a hypospray, Kirk spoke firmly.

"Computer. Unseal First Officer's quarters on Captain's verbal authority."

"Voice scan affirmative. Seal disengaged."

As the door opened, both men frowned and took a step back. The room was dark, hot, humid, and reeked of both sweat and pheromones.

"Reminds me of the locker room at the Academy after an obstacle course run, Jim."

"Is a bit potent, isn't it? Mister Spock, the Vulcan colony has requested your presence on the Bridge when we arrive."

There was movement from one segment of shadow, then Spock emerged. Kirk held McCoy back. The Vulcan was noticeably thinner and didn't appear to have changed uniforms from the last time they'd seen him. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse as if he'd damaged his vocal cords from screaming. Which he well might have behind the sound-proof walls.

"We are nearly there?"

"We are. Get yourself cleaned up. I doubt you want them seeing you like that."

Spock paused and looked down at himself.

"No. No, I would not."

It was partially against his better judgment, but McCoy maneuvered past Kirk.

"Do you need any assistance, Spock?"

The eyes that looked up were so dark that McCoy couldn't see any whites at all. He expected to be turned down, but instead, Spock nodded very slowly.

"Assistance would . . be welcome, Doctor. The . . . experience is more intense than I had imagined."

Turning to Kirk, McCoy laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Head on back to the Bridge, Jim. Call when you need Spock and I'll bring him up."

The thought of leaving McCoy alone with the erratic Vulcan didn't sit well with Kirk.

"Are you sure, Bones?"

There was no hesitation in the answering nod.

"We'll be fine."

As he stepped into the room, the door slid shut behind the doctor. Kirk stood staring at the door for another minute or two, then headed back for the Bridge.

Inside Spock's quarters, McCoy moved around the near-motionless Vulcan as if undressing him was the most natural thing in the world. In truth, he had plenty of practice from dealing with a drunk Kirk during their Academy days and Spock had the advantage of not falling on top of him constantly. Crumpling up the filthy items, McCoy shoved them into the reclamation bin of the replicator before herding Spock into the sonic shower.

"So - this is a Vulcan ritual thing you're heading for. You planning on wearing your uniform or your robes?"

"There is robe I will wear. You will find it in my top storage drawer."

The drawer wasn't locked so McCoy opened it and looked over the garment. Pale grey with a large amount of silver embroidery. It looked well-kept, but old. Most likely a family heirloom and, therefore, priceless.

Gently lifting the robe out, it proved to be far lighter than McCoy had expected. A soft noise behind him made him turn and he found himself face to face with a clean, but scowling Vulcan. Forcing his tone to remain calm, McCoy stood his ground.

"You requested my assistance - remember? Come on and let me help you get dressed. The Captain will be calling us to the Bridge any minute now."

Spock closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to steady himself before nodding stiffly again. Starting to breath normally again, McCoy took a moment to study the fasteners of the robe before undoing them and helping Spock into the garment. He was still in the middle of re-fastening the robe when the call came from the Bridge.

"Kirk to McCoy. Bring him up."

"On our way, Captain."

There was no mistaking the fine tremors going through Spock's body now. The doctor in McCoy was to the forefront as he escorted Spock out of his quarters and down the corridors. The sight of the naked blade in McCoy's free hand persuaded the lower ranks to keep their distance.

The intact of air when Spock and McCoy stepped onto the Bridge was loud even to McCoy's ears. One look and any doubts Sulu had harbored about whether or not Spock was actually sick were gone. Kirk waited until Spock was in position by his chair before speaking to Uhura.

"Lieutenant, let the Vulcan colony know that we are ready."

"Aye, Captain. Response coming in."

"Main viewscreen, Uhura."

"Aye. sir."

A older Vulcan male appeared on the screen.

"Welcome, Enterprise. I am Elder Davuk. Permission to beam down to the colony is granted and the coordinates are being relayed to your ship."

Without waiting for any response from Kirk, Davuk stepped to the side and a young Vulcan woman appeared. To McCoy, the expression on her face was rather like that of someone finding they had something unwanted on their shoe. Spock didn't seem any less pleased to see her.

"T'Pring. Parted without parting. Touching without touch. I come to the appointed place."

The wording seemed peculiar to Kirk, but they struck a memory in McCoy and he found himself casting a glance over at Uhura, who was starting to frown as the Vulcan woman began to speak in turn. Kirk paid close attention to her body language and he found himself taking an immediate dislike to the haughty woman whose tone toward Spock was condescending.

"Spock. Parted without parting. Touching without touch. I await your arrival."

There was nothing else - the signal cut off without any closing as Kirk frowned. The Vulcans were playing at a dangerous game when they were so rudely abrupt with officers of Imperial Starfleet. Before he could dwell on that too long, Uhura's voice broke into his thoughts.

"She's a lovely woman, Mister Spock. A relative of yours?"

Spock's eyes didn't waver from staring straight ahead at the viewing screen even though nothing was currently showing there.

"In a manner of speaking. She is my wife."


	4. Chapter 4

From the look on Uhura's face after Spock said the word 'wife', Kirk was glad for Spock's sake that they were about to beam down to the colony. Otherwise, there was the distinct possibility of having green blood spilled all over the deck.

McCoy was obviously of the same opinion and tugged on Spock's arm to urge him toward the turbolift. Considering his recent violent tendencies, Spock went along with the doctor almost meekly. Kirk followed, giving out his order as he moved.

"Scotty, you have the con. Take care of our lady while I'm gone."

Grateful for an excuse not to have to get close again to Uhura while she was still hot, Scotty nodded with more enthusiasm than usual.

"Aye. I will, sir."

As the turbolift door shut, McCoy breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Medical advice, Spock. Don't turn your back on Nyota for awhile. It would be very bad for your health."

Spock showed a rare trace of amusement.

"Indeed. I would hardly expect less from a woman of her spirit."

Following that statement, the three men made the rest of the trip to the transporter room in silence. As they entered the area, Kyle snapped immediately into a salute. Kirk returned it automatically as he made his way onto the platform.

"Mister Kyle, did you receive the coordinates from the Vulcan colony?"

"Aye, Captain. The coordinates have been programmed in. Awaiting your command, sir."

Kirk waiting another minute to allow McCoy and Spock to get in position, then gave a curt nod.

"Energize."

In the harsh light of the arid world, the trio of transporter beams were practically invisible. As soon as the beams released them, Kirk gasped as he felt the oppressive heat hit him like a blow. The Vulcans had gone for a world as close to their lost planet as could be found - understandably so perhaps, but far more heat than the Iowa raised man was used to.

McCoy felt the heat as well, but not as keenly and he looked around, greatly interested.

"Hot enough to make the devil cry, eh Jim? Hope we don't have to walk too far in this. Spock?"

While McCoy was speaking, Spock had been looking to get his bearings. Spotting what he was searching for, he indicated the structure down below them.

"They have recreated the ceremonial grounds. That is where the wedding will take place."

Spock had already started walking in that direction, so Kirk and McCoy had to catch up, both puzzled but Kirk voiced the question.

"Marriage? Didn't you say she was already your wife?"

Slowing his stride, Spock considered the question.

"Perhaps I chose the wrong word in Terran. There is not an exact translation for the Vulcan word. It is less than a marital bond, but more than a simple engagement."

Speeding up enough to draw even with Spock, McCoy continued the questions.

"How exactly is something more than intending to be married and less than married?"

"There was a light mental bonding formed between us by our elders when our eventual marriage was agreed upon. As is ancient Vulcan custom, the match between myself and T'Pring was arranged by our families after we had reached the age of seven years. Marriages between families on Vulcan take a number of factors into consideration. The family lineage, social positions, properties and so forth."

Privately, McCoy was wondering just how much clout the Ambassador had to be able to convince any family to marry their daughter off to a half-blood. Respecting keeping his own blood in his veins, he didn't bring up that subject as Kirk commented.

"More of a business arrangement than a love match."

"Precisely, Captain. We are nearly at the grounds. As you will not know the proper ceremonies, simply stay to the back of the area and follow my lead if I signal to you that you are expected to respond."

Looking around the area as they entered, Kirk had to admit that the Vulcans had apparently done a good job of recreating their home's special features. IF he hadn't know that this area couldn't be more than a year or two old, he would have sworn the place was ancient. He was startled from his musings by the sound of a gong's vibrating tones. He looked to see Spock standing beside the oddly shaped gong, then turned at the sound of approaching footsteps.

As he got his first look at the Vulcans entering the ceremonial grounds, his attention was drawn to a Vulcan woman who was being carried in on a throne like chair by two Vulcan men. _Talk about ancient . . . she looks older than the old Spock did._

A group of oddly masked and armed Vulcan men followed in her wake followed by Elder Davuk who was followed, in turn, by T'Pring who had an unarmed male walking by her side. The procession moved to a raised dais and the poles were removed from the ancient woman's chair, leaving her seated there as she studied Spock and the two humans silently.

To the surprise of all, including the guards who weren't anticipating the move, McCoy went straight up to the dais and knelt before the woman, bowing his head respectfully as he spoke.

"Ko'mekh-il."

That one word seemed to stun everyone present into frozen silence - except for Kirk, who had no idea what McCoy had said or why he'd approached the woman in the first place.

As he silently watched McCoy, Spock's mind flashed back to the Academy. During one of the times that he had confronted McCoy, the man had claimed to have met T'Pau. From the softening of T'Pau's eyes as she reached a hand down to rest against McCoy's face, it appeared McCoy had not been bluffing.

"Leonard. We had not expected to see thee again, child. No longer a child, but a man. You have accompanied Spock?"

T'Pring stepped forward before McCoy could reply, her voice tight as she glared at McCoy.

"Are our ceremonies for outworlders?"

Lowering her hand from McCoy's face, T'Pau gave T'Pring a glacial stare.

"Thou would be wise to guard thy tongue, T'Pring. I have known this one since he was too young for a bond. He has kept our secrets and he is welcome among us."

Wasting no further time on the fuming younger woman, T'Pau glanced toward Kirk, then faced Spock.

"We are acquainted with one of thy companions. Who is thy second?"

"This is James T. Kirk. Captain of the ISS Enterprise."

"These two are thy allies?"

"They are."

"Then both are welcome. Let the ceremony commence."

The two men who had been carrying the chair each picked up a set of bells strung on a frame that resembled the shape of the gong. A shape that suddenly reminded Kirk uncomfortably of the shape of an old-fashion coffin.

Spock gave a solemn bow to T'Pau and reached for the small mallet to strike the gong, but T'Pring darted over with surprising speed and threw her hand out with a yell.

"Kal-if-fee!"

The look that Spock gave to T'Pring was murderous, but he let the mallet drop from his hand to the ground. Kirk remembered what little McCoy had been able to tell him and felt a chill in spite of the heat.

The look T'Pau was giving the young Vulcan woman showed her displeasure, but her voice betrayed none of that as she spoke in Terran for the benefit of Kirk and McCoy.

"T'Pring - thou hast chosen the challenge and, in doing so, break the contract of thy father and forsake the protection of his house. Do you so acknowledge this and agree that thou will become the property of he who wins the challenge?"

"I call the challenge with full knowledge of my actions."

"So be it. Choose thy champion."

The Vulcan that had walked in at her side straightened proudly. Eyeing him from where he still knelt by T'Pau, McCoy was on the opinion that Spock would normally have snapped the man in two, but with Spock's recent problems with eating and meditation? The other man might well have the advantage.

Clasping her hands, T'Pring began to move in slow, measured steps.

"I have chosen the right of kal-if-fee. As it was in the days of our ancestors, as it is today, as it will be in the times to follow, I make my choice."

She had come to a stop immediately in front of the puffed up Vulcan male, but then turned her back on him. There was a trace of malevolence in her eyes as she pointed directly to McCoy.

"He is who I chose to be my champion."

McCoy looked back at her impassively even as there was an extreme emotional outburst from Kirk and, more surprisingly, from the Vulcan male. Apparently, he didn't take rejection well and the full weight of T'Pau's glare fell on him even as the guards surrounded him.

"Stonn, your outburst disgraces your family and yourself. Be silent."

Kirk had already fallen silent, though he was staring daggers at T'Pau for involving McCoy in this Vulcan ritual. T'Pau turned her attention to him next.

"Kirk, there is no hold on thee here. If you wish to return to thy ship, you may do so now."

He didn't even have to think about the answer to that.

"I will remain with my men."

Nodding her approval, T'Pau then looked to McCoy.

"While named champion, you are not of our blood and may reject her decision with no fault being cast on thee."

McCoy gave a silent nod, then gave a long look over at T'Pring. That she-snake was up to something and he wanted to know what it was. So fine - he'd play at her game.

"I accept."

"No!"

Kirk was more than a little shocked to find out that he had yelled in near-perfect unison with Spock. Spock hadn't seemed to notice. His focus was fully on T'Pau, who motioned him to her.

"This is the time to be deep into the plak tow, Spock. Has thy human blood quenched the fires of thy Vulcan blood?"

"No. I burn. But I beg of thee, forbid this. The humans do not know of our ways. They do not understand that I will do as my blood demands with no regard for anything else."

There was a moment of silence, then T'Pau gestured Spock away.

"Leonard, son of David, understands more than you give him credit for. The challenge stands. Prepare. If both survive the lirpa, they will then move to the ahn woon until only one remains."

Handed a sash, McCoy rose and moved over to where a livid Kirk was waiting. As soon as McCoy was close enough, Kirk grabbed his arm and pulled him near.

"This shit is to the death? Are you out of your damn mind, Bones? He's going to kill you!"

"Gee, thanks for that overwhelming vote of confidence, Jim. Guess we'll find out if the training I've gotten from you, Uhura and Chekov over the years has done any good."

A firm grip from McCoy stopped another rant and Kirk went quiet as McCoy spoke softly to prevent the Vulcans from hearing.

"That Vulcan bitch is up to something and I aim to figure out what. Watch her, Jim. While the challenge is underway, she might forget herself and give up what she's hiding."

McCoy handed his medkit over to Kirk before fastened the ceremonial sash around himself.

"Oh, and Jim? If this doesn't work out like I hope it will, make sure she doesn't survive their honeymoon."

"With pleasure."

One of the Vulcan guards came over with the lirpa - a staff weapon with a half-moon blade on one end and a counterweight at the other. By Vulcan methods, a lightweight weapon. For McCoy? Workable, but heavier than he cared for. Holding it as he looked to T'Pau, he called out.

"If this is a weight-lifting competition, we can call this match now. I don't mind a battle, but I do mind unfair odds. Bad enough the climate here isn't friendly to Terrans - I have to deal with an overweight and unfamiliar weapon as well?"

A brow raised and then T'Pau gave a nod.

"We have lirpa of lesser weight that our young begin their training. Davuk! Bring one at once."

At that order, T'Pring stepped up again.

"A child's lirpa? Am I to be disgraced by being fought over by a child's weapon?"

Kirk could have sworn that a light smile was playing on T'Pau's lips.

"It was thy hand that chose a champion that was not of Vulcan blood. If there is any disgrace to be had, thou hast brought it upon thyself. Step back. Thou gave away all of thy rights as an individual after making thy choice. Thy fate now rests solely with he who wins this challenge."

Obeying but obviously unhappy, T'Pring stepped back as ordered. As T'Pau called the combatants forward, Kirk grabbed McCoy's arm.

"So help me, Bones - you get yourself killed, I'll find a way to resurrect you so that I can strangle the life out of you myself."

The hazel eyes had that swirling darkness behind them that Kirk both feared and trusted as McCoy raised a hand to touch the golden hair.

"You always say the sweetest things, Jim."


	5. Chapter 5

The lighter lirpa arrived and McCoy tested its weight and balance before nodding. In combat with Spock, he knew he'd be better off the further he could stay from the Vulcan. If they got into close quarters, Spock would most certainly have the strength advantage.

Then again, he was a surgeon. one with knowledge of Vulcan anatomy and a bladed weapon. What hits he could make, he planned to make count. Preferably without killing Spock, but if it came down to a choice, McCoy would choose his own survival. When he turned, McCoy saw that Spock was now barefoot and wearing nothing more pants with the sash around his waist. He briefly thought about removing his own boots, but decided against it. The sand was probably far too hot for his bare feet.

The second the call to begin was given, McCoy was having to dodge a swing from Spock. Whatever was left of the Spock that McCoy knew was now deeply submerged beneath the biological imperative of pon farr. He'd find all of this a highly fascinating study if that selfsame biological imperative wasn't currently encouraging Spock to try and kill him.

The first part of the round consisted mainly of McCoy dodging blows while experimenting with the lirpa to get a feel for how to use it. Spock already had the advantage of training with the weapon in his youth, but McCoy noted that Spock's movements were stylized more than combat oriented. With Spock's higher brain functions basically off-line, he wouldn't be altering his combat to a more out of the box approach. In a fight with another Vulcan, that wouldn't make any difference, but if McCoy could keep his moves unpredictable, it would be his edge.

The longer the round went, the more the heat and thin air were affecting McCoy's speed. Spock was bleeding from several light cuts, but while the cuts on McCoy were fewer, they were deeper and bleeding more. It was all Kirk could do to restrain himself as McCoy ducked barely quickly enough to lose some hair instead of part of his scalp. Spock's moves were getting steadily more animalistic. The swings were wild, but with so much power behind them that if they struck McCoy, they were likely to be fatal.

Finally one swing missed and couldn't be checked before the lirpa connected with one of the stone pillars, snapping the weapon in two. Snarling, Spock flung the pieces away from him and dove at McCoy bare-handed.

Kirk was so caught up in watching the fight that he almost missed it when T'Pring gave herself away as she cast a look toward Stonn when the lirpa broke. A thin smile formed then disappeared again as he saw McCoy was having trouble holding off the rampaging Vulcan. Spock took some deeper wounds in exchange but he managed to get his hands on McCoy's weapon. McCoy gave a short prayer to a god he wasn't even sure existed that he was reading Spock's body language correctly.

As the Vulcan threw all of his strength into wresting the weapon away, McCoy released it without warning. With the expected resistance gone, Spock's balance was compromised and the second lirpa flew out of the combat area. Spock was breathing hard, but went back to his position when T'Pau announced the combat with the lirpa was a tie.

Spock might have been breathing hard, but McCoy was panting and dripping with both blood and sweat as he came back to Kirk's side while the next set of weapons were being brought out. Kirk had asked for and been given warm water which McCoy forced himself to sip even thoug he wanted to guzzle it. As he drank, the small smile now playing on Kirk's lips gave him hope.

"What did you see, Jim?"

"Right after Spock's weapon broke? Everyone else was watching the two of you, but T'Pring looked back at Stonn then she laid a hand on her abdomen for a minute. I know that gesture."

"Yeah. So do I, Jim. Let's hope that means the same in a Vulcan woman as it does a human one or I'll have worse to contend with than Spock."

A whistling sound reached their ears and they looked over in unison to see Spock expertly maneuvering a long strip of leather with weights on either end. McCoy winced at the look of it.

"Who didn't I kill that I should have in a previous life? I am so screwed."

Kirk gave him a pat on his back.

"Only if you win, Bones."

"Promises, promises, Jim."

Taking a deep breath, McCoy got back to his feet as one of the Vulcan guards presented him with his ahn woon. Taking the weapon in hand that he had no idea of how to use, he steadied himself. This next move could well be his last.

As T'Pau began to order the start of the next round, he interrupted her with a shout.

"Kroykah!"

T'Pau was at first stunned then annoyed at the interruption.

"What is thy meaning in calling a halt, Leonard?"

"I beg forgiveness, T'Pau, but there is a point of this combat that I find I need clarification on before we continue."

"You are not versed in our traditions. I will allow this interruption. Speak - what is it that concerns thee?"

"This woman is being fought for by myself and Spock, but I have my doubts as to whether she is worthy of being the prize of this contest."

T'Pring bristled again and stepped forward.

"I demand blood for this insult!"

"It isn't an insult if it's the truth, lady. I not only accuse you of having laid with a male other than Spock, but accuse you of carrying his child."

There was a moment of absolute stillness in the arena as T'Pring's skin paled before she turned and tried to flee the area. The guards quickly put a stop to that and escorted the woman back to where T'Pau was now standing, her fury showing plainly in her eyes. Spock had moved forward as well, but now his growl was focused on the young Vulcan woman and not McCoy.

T'Pau nodded to the guards and they moved to hold T'Pring in place as the matriarch moved to place her hands on the sides of the younger woman's face.

"Thy thoughts shall be mine whether by thy will or not. Open thy mind to me or suffer the consequences."

The scream emerging from her moments later showed that she chose to do it the hard way. By the time T'Pau finished, T'Pring collapsed, held up only by the guards at her side.

Motioning for them to drag her to the side, T'Pau faced Spock who was clutching the ahn woon so tightly that his knuckles were a pale green.

"Spock, Leonard speaks the truth. The one bonded to thee broke her faith and has disgraced her family. Blood is thy right for this insult to thee and thy house."

Spock's voice was rough as he snarled.

"Blood! Who?"

T'Pau turned her gaze toward the Vulcan male quietly backing away from the group and spoke only one word.

"Stonn."

With a bestial roar, Spock headed for Stonn while the other Vulcans parted without a sound. The attack was without mercy and what remained of Stonn when Spock finally backed away was unrecognizable - just a lump of flesh, bone and green blood.

Skin covered in green blood, both his own and Stonn's, Spock moved to kneel in front of T'Pau. Even from where he stood, Kirk could see that Spock's expression was looking far more like his regular self. Paying no attention to the blood, T'Pau reached her left hand out to rest on Spock's face.

"Spock, the pact between families was broken. Speak what thy wishes are concerning T'Pring."

"The blood has quenched my fires, T'Pau. I want no marital bond with such as she. Let her champion have her."

"So be it. Leonard, son of David - the woman T'Pring is thine. We would ask a favor of thee."

McCoy moved to kneel by Spock's side.

"If it is in my power and I can grant it without breaking my oaths, I will grant whatever you ask of me, Ko'mekh-il."

Pleased, T'Pau laid her right hand on McCoy.

"Vulcan children now are rare and precious. We ask for the child she carries."

A weak protest came from T'Pring, but no-one paid it any heed. McCoy paused just long enough to exchange a look with Spock before replying.

"The child is no part of myself or my allies. It is yours. Does your medical center have the technology for an artificial womb?"

"It does."

"Excellent. If you have her taken to the medical center, I'll take care of that before we leave."

"So be it. Varik, escort her there."

Once T'Pring had been removed from the area, T'Pau motioned for Kirk to approach her. Not sure what he was expected do, Kirk decided to follow the example of the others and knelt in front of her at McCoy's side. From T'Pau's expression, he'd made the correct choice.

"We understand that you have risked angering the Emperor to bring Spock to his people during his time. Our house is in thy debt."

It took a moment for the meaning of that to sink in. Spock was related to T'Pau? The only known person of any species to reject the Emperor's call to serve as one of his ministers and live to tell about it? Spock was going to have a helluva lot of explaining to do regarding why he hadn't seen fit to mention that little detail. For that matter, he wanted to hear the tale of how McCoy knew her as well.

When he broke himself out of his thoughts and looked back at T'Pau, Kirk though he saw amusement in her eyes. She must have divined which direction his thoughts had gone in.

"As a captain in the Imperial Starfleet, we know that thee and thy ship cannot long tarry here, but we will have Elder Davuk take the three of you to where the wounds may be tended and rest taken out of the heat of the midday. After that, we invite you to sup with us before thy departure."

"We would be honored, T'Pau."

T'Pau gestured and Elder Davuk approached, bowing to her before signaling for the three officers to follow him. McCoy bit back a groan. His wounds, the blood loss and the heat were all telling, but he didn't realize how badly he must have been swaying until both Spock and Kirk reached to steady him. Davuk ignored it - whether because a human being injured didn't matter to him or because he was tactfully ignoring weakness shown by a guest was impossible to say. McCoy decided to give him the benefit of the doubt because it seemed bad manners to put a dagger through his eye while he was escorting them.

Attendants were waiting with hot baths filled with the heavily mineralized water of the new Vulcan world. That didn't strike either McCoy or Kirk as strange until they saw the near reverent way that Spock approached and allowed the attendants to strip the bloody pants from him and wash the blood from his body. Only once Spock was clean and his cuts tended to did the attendants help him into the water.

Kirk hovered rather possessively nearby as McCoy was stripped, then winced in empathy. He knew McCoy had taken his share of hits, but keeping watch on T'Pring had kept him from noticing just how many. Once the dirt and blood were washed away, the doctor's pallor from the blood loss was evident. After helping McCoy into in the water, the attendants quietly exited to leave the three alone.

Moving closer to McCoy, Kirk dipped his hand in the steaming water.

"This stuff is almost like a thin syrup."

"There are trace elements of 57 minerals in these waters. It has been deemed unsuitable for drinking without treatment. Fortunately, there are also pockets of drinkable waters on this planet."

A slow smile formed on McCoy's face at the sound of Spock spouting out facts. Oddly enough, he'd missed the hobgoblin's blabber. Then he remembered something else.

"Hey, Spock. The slut belongs to me now, right?"

Spock raised no objections to the way McCoy referred to his former bonded.

"She does. Ownership papers should be being prepared as we speak, but may take longer than they usually would. To my knowledge, the kal-if-fee has not called in my lifetime and never before with a non-Vulcan's participation."

Leaning his head back with a sigh, McCoy closed his eyes.

"Speaking of which, I accidently picked up a souvenir, Jim. Permission to bring her aboard when we leave?"

Laughing, Kirk swirled his hand in the water again.

"I think we can allow it this one time, so long as you don't make a habit of it. Assuming Spock doesn't mind."

"So long as the Doctor does not allow his slave to wander around freely, I have no objections."

That reminded McCoy of something he needed to discuss with Spock and he shifted in the water.

"Speaking of objections, when we return to the Enterprise, avoid Uhura until I can talk with her. I think I know how to settle her down so you'll be able to work at your station without posting a bodyguard at your back."

Even without being able to see the Vulcan's face, McCoy knew one brow was rising.

"While not unappreciative of your offer to intervene on my behalf, why would you do so?"

Ignoring his protesting body, McCoy sat up and scowled.

"Can you get one simple fact into your skull, hobgoblin? If we'd wanted you dead, all we would have had to do is follow orders and let your own damn biology do the job for us."

The silence wasn't long, but it was noticeable as Spock generally responded to McCoy's jibes faster than that.

"That is true. I had not considered the situation from that viewpoint, Doctor. I will endeavor to avoid her until you inform me that you have spoken with her."

"We might not want to leave things to chance. Jim, when we get back, mind ordering her to report to Sickbay?

"Sure. I'd rather have everything settled before we have to deal with Komack's tantrum. While you finish your soak, I'll have a fresh uniform sent down for you, Bones. Spock? Going to put your robe back on or should I request a uniform for you as well?"

"Considering that particular robe was designed to be worn only at a marriage ceremony, I would prefer a uniform."

"Done."

As Kirk stepped outside to contact the Enterprise, Spock reclined back and reviewed the amount of effort that had been put forth on his behalf with little discernible gain for either Kirk or McCoy beyond having him remain. He was surprised next to recall how much Kirk and McCoy knew about him and more so when he found that their knowledge didn't bother him.

Closing his eyes in meditation, Spock contemplated some of Admiral Pike's lessons of the past. Perhaps there were deeper and farther reaching advantages of this alliance of theirs than he had previously taken into account.


	6. Chapter 6

Kirk was running various thoughts through his head, only staying alert enough to make sure McCoy didn't relax so much that his head went underwater. The area was perfectly quiet until the Elder returned and informed them that their meal would be ready shortly. The attendants filed in silently behind him.

Spock exited his soak immediately, moving over to where a basin of far softer water was waiting. The attendants again washed him and examined his cuts again before leaving him to dress and moving over to McCoy. Kirk was highly tempted to shoo them off, but kept his grumbling to himself even when it seemed obvious that the women were contrasting the differences between a human male and a Vulcan one. He finally did shoo them off when they started to help dress McCoy instead of leaving him to dress himself as they had done with Spock. McCoy was openly amused as he watched the women exit.

"Feeling a touch possessive today, Jim?"

Not bothering to answer that beyond a dirty look, Kirk helped McCoy finish getting dressed. With the Elder waiting at the entrance, McCoy didn't tease any further. Once he was ready, they followed Elder Davuk to a shuttle. McCoy wasn't thrilled about having to use one, but options were limited so he kept quiet about it. At least Kirk tended to be a good distraction on short flights.

The flight was even shorter than expected, just a few minutes long before they reached the central area of the Vulcan colony. Elder Davuk gestured to the area - which, like the arena, was designed to look far older than it was.

"On behalf of T'Pau and the Council, I welcome you to Kal'ta. The kal'ta plant was the first of our home planet's vegetation to thrive here, so T'Pau considered that resilience was worthy of naming our first new city in its honor."

McCoy was taking everything in as he nodded.

"Lot worse ways to pick a name. Is that the medical center to our left?"

"It is. I believe T'Pau has made arrangements for you to be escorted there after your meal if that is acceptable to you."

"Sounds perfectly acceptable to me."

How acceptable it was to Kirk seemed to be a different matter as he shifted and placed his hand on McCoy in an obviously possessive manner, leaving McCoy to muse that he could end up having an interesting evening once they got back to the ship.

Once the shuttle landed, they were escorted directly to the hall where T'Pau was waiting. To their surprise, the members of the Vulcan council were all present as well - including Spock's father. McCoy managed to refrain from showing his amusement at the reaction of the Council when he was granted the seat of honor to T'Pau's right while Spock was given the seat to her left. Kirk was, thankfully, seated beside McCoy.

The meal went well enough except for one incident when one of the Council took offense to McCoy calling T'Pau by Ko'mekh-il. That was dealt with by T'Pau herself.

"We were the one who both taught that name to Leonard and gave him permission to use grandmother in reference to our person. If there are objections, they will be directed toward us and not toward our guests."

That answered one question for Kirk. He'd been wondering why everyone had seemed so stunned at the arena when McCoy had called her that. As for the rest of the meal, some of the Council members gave the occasional look toward McCoy, but the conversation never veered away from strict politeness again.

After the dinner was officially over, T'Pau motioned for Elder Davuk to approach her.

"It is our wish that thou escort Leonard to the medical center and inform them of our wishes. We have some matters to attend to first, but will join thee there."

The Elder requested that McCoy follow him, but was not really surprised to find that both Kirk and Spock planned to accompany him as well. At T'Pau nod of assent, he led the three out of the hall. They were no more than clear of the doorway when the arguments erupted from Stonn's kin demanding blood for his death to others disputing McCoy's right to T'Pring. Somehow, T'Pau's voice cut through all of the clamor.

"Silence! Stonn dishonored his house, our house and thy house as well, Vorik. Thy daughter, Selar, was bonded to Stonn."

"She was, T'Pau, but, as you know, she did not survive the loss of our homeworld."

"Be that as it may, Stonn broke his vow to thy daughter before her death. We pulled the truth from T'Pring's mind."

Vorik stood, voice icy as he spoke.

"I withdraw any objections I may have voiced. I ask for your pardon, T'Pau."

"Granted. And you, Starn? For the insult to himself and his house, Spock could have demanded far more in the way of reparations from thy house than blood."

Starn rose slowly, speaking with care.

"If it is as you say, T'Pau, I revoke my right for blood."

Frost could have formed from the chill in T'Pau's tone.

"If? Dost thou doubt our word, Starn?"

"No, never, T'Pau. I beg pardon for my careless words."

The frost congealed into pure ice.

"An Elder so compromised that he forgets himself is an Elder that should pass the mantle of his position on the Council to his heir. We shall not expect to see thee in our presence again."

After that pronouncement, Davuk didn't delay any longer and took the trio to the medical center. McCoy showed a great deal of interest in the facilities, nodding in approval after inspecting the artificial womb. Then he turned to the head Vulcan healer.

"Everything looks ready. I'd like to perform the surgery as soon as possible."

The healer was taken aback, his eyes automatically seeking Davuk, but McCoy pulled his attention back to him.

"Healer Senvar, the woman is my property and I am a surgeon. As such, I only want my hands on her."

"But you do not know the Vulcan body, Doctor McCoy."

"Everything about a Vulcan body? No, but I do know the basics. I would appreciate yourself or one of the other healers assisting me, but I will perform the surgery myself."

Senvar clearly had his doubts, but consented to stand by to assist before sending for T'Pring. As soon as she saw McCoy standing by the table and smiling, T'Pring began fighting to free herself from her guards. The doctor enjoyed the struggle for a couple of minutes before turning to Spock.

"Spock? Mind giving a hand here?"

"Of course not, Doctor."

Meeting McCoy's eyes and understanding what he wanted, Spock moved over to T'Pring, subduing her easily with a nerve pinch before picking her up and depositing her on the operating table. No regard was given for her modesty as McCoy efficiently sliced her clothing away and dumped the remains into a recycler. Her body was then firmly strapped down before McCoy gave a smile to Spock.

"Time for you and Jim to leave the room. I'm sure there's an observation area if you don't want to miss anything."

Neither man commented as they left the operating theatre, but Kirk immediately looked for the observation window. He never missed a chance to watch McCoy at work. When it became apparent that McCoy didn't plan to use any drugs to keep T'Pring unconscious, Senvar questioned that decision. McCoy merely smiled.

"The important one here is the infant. Drugs might compromise it, so she doesn't get any until the child is out. Now, do you have a stasis tube?"

The question was not expected, but Senvar answered automatically.

"We do, but there is not one present here."

"We're going to need one. Not a large one, mind you. A small one will do."

As Senvar sent for one of the stasis unit, McCoy hummed an upbeat little tune to himself as he went around the table and further tightened all of the straps. He had little doubt that she would come to sometime during the procedure and he didn't want her squirming around.

Once the stasis unit was in place, McCoy asked Senvar to activate the sterilization field and began. There was no hesitation in his movements and Spock was again amazed at the amount of knowledge that had either retained or stolen from the records or Doctor McCoy's father. The fetus, which from Spock's own biology lessons appeared to be roughly a third of the way through its development, was quickly transferred into the artificial womb. Both McCoy and Senvar fussed over that and made sure the fetus was healthy, ignoring sounds of pain coming from T'Pring.

Once assured that the fetus was thriving in its new environment, McCoy made his way back to the table. Now he allowed the drugs to be given to her that would keep her unconscious for the remainder of what he planned to do.

"This is where I need a little direction, Healer Senvar. Where are the ovaries located in a Vulcan woman?"

Now understanding the need for the stasis tube, Senvar directed McCoy's actions and assisted in the harvesting of the unfertilized eggs. Once they were safely in stasis, McCoy finished cleaning up T'Pring, readying her for being moved to recover. As he moved to clean himself up next, McCoy nodded toward the tube.

"A present for T'Pau. I'm certain that your geneticists will be able to figure the best way to make use of those for rebuilding your race. I won't clutter your beds with her for long. I'll be ready to have her beamed aboard the Enterprise no later than tomorrow."

Moving back to the artificial womb, McCoy nodded to it.

"You need to look into making a whole lot more of these if you folks are serious about rebuilding your race. Lot of your women are older. If that means what it means for most other races, fertility goes way down or ends altogether past a certain age. Your people done much with DNA extraction?"

"Some. However it has not been a widely chosen field and we lost many researchers when our planet died."

Gesturing toward the stasis tube, McCoy's attention stayed on the womb's mechanism.

"Might be a good time to look at it from another angle. Take some healthy eggs, extract the DNA you don't want from it, insert the DNA of one of the women from among your Elders? That would give you a lot bigger gene pool to work with, wouldn't it? I've done DNA extraction work myself in the line of research, so I'd be glad to show some of your folks some of the finer points of how it's done. The work takes a delicate touch and patience, but I'm sure you have a few folks with those traits."

Senvar clasped his hands behind him as he took a stance so like Spock that McCoy had to stop himself from chuckling. The Healer wouldn't understand and might take insult.

"Doctor McCoy, as I am sure you are aware, Vulcans are tolerated in the Empire, but hardly esteemed. Such aid as we have received since the destruction of our world is likely more of a show put on for the benefit of the other Imperial worlds than any true desire to aid our people."

To Senvar's surprise, McCoy didn't bother to deny that.

"Oh, I have little doubt. The Emperor is well-known to be Terran-centric in his leanings."

"Then why would the Emperor offer us assistance in building our numbers?"

"Actually, Healer Senvar? I don't recall mentioning the Emperor once."

Pausing, McCoy looked through the observation window and met Kirk's gaze. Kirk gave a side glance to Spock, then gave McCoy a firm nod. Smile forming, McCoy turned his attention back to Senvar.

"You see, my captain and I have found that Vulcans can make damn good allies. Why would we let your people die out if we can help prevent it? Got a few other ideas for broadening your gene pool even further as well, but first things first. Maximize what you already have."

Giving a nod, Senvar moved to pick the stasis tube up.

"I will bring your gift and your offer before the Elders and the Council of Healers."

After Senvar exited the operating theatre, McCoy finally let out that chuckle he'd been holding back.

"Yeah, you do that. I think you'll find that extinction isn't an option so far as T'Pau is concerned."

Humming to himself again, McCoy left the room to rejoin Kirk and Spock. Spock was studying McCoy very intently as he approached.

"Exactly what did you mean by increasing the gene pool, Doctor?"

"Just that. Get in some unrelated, or at least distantly related, DNA to give the Vulcan population the best chance of healthy increase."

"And exactly how would you propose that unrelated genes be found? Surviving Vulcans from ships and other settlements have been brought here for that purpose already."

Leaning his back against the observation window, McCoy pulled out a hypospray and examined it while speaking.

"Tell me, Spock - eliminate things like philosophy, traditions and the like. Then tell me if there's really any biological differences between Vulcans and Romulans other than a few superficial features?"

The Vulcan's eyes grew dark again.

"You would have us merge with the Romulans?"

Matching scowl for scowl, McCoy snapped back.

"Get past the cultural crap, Spock. You don't have to bring any adult Romulans into the equation at all. They have slaves of their own kind. Slaves have babies. If a Romulan kid has a little surgery to alter any visible features before they're old enough to know any different and they're raised as a Vulcan? Who could tell they weren't a Vulcan to start with? But his or her genes would be fresh to mix and strengthen the group as a whole."

The voice for the doorway caught them all unaware.

"Leonard is correct. We must do what we can to preserve our race. A child of similar bloodlines raised with our heritage will become one of us."

To T'Pau's amusement, all three men made a slight bow to her, but each did so in his own fashion, the most deferential being from Spock and the least from Kirk. She moved to McCoy and positioned the tips of her long fingers in the position that Kirk could now see where the traditional ones for a mind meld though she spoke aloud.

"We accept and will make use of your gift to our people. But thy Emperor will not love thee should he learn of this."

McCoy's smile was not one that conveyed any humor. T'Pau frowned slightly as she took in his thoughts, then turned her head to study Kirk very closely. Her expression cleared and Kirk could have sworn she was highly amused. She then turned toward Spock, speaking formally as she withdrew from McCoy and formed the Vulcan salute with her left hand.

"Thy allies have been chosen wisely. Thou may still walk a path denied to many of thy generation. Let the blessings of thy mixed heritage lead thee to carve new worlds for the Empire. Live long and conquer, Spock."

Returning the salute with his right hand, Spock replied with equal formality.

"Rule long and prosper, T'Pau."

Turning back to Kirk, T'Pau shocked Kirk to the point of speechless as she gave him the Imperial salute. It was well-known that during her visit to Earth, she had refrained from giving that salute to the Emperor himself in the throne room. He returned the salute as if to an equal and she gave a nod of approval. It seemed that they had reached an accord without a word being spoken that could have been overheard and relayed back to the Imperial throne.

"We ask thy leave for Leonard to stay with us until tomorrow so that he may impart the knowledge our scientists need to make full use of his gift. He and his property could then return to thy ship together."

"Granted, so long as it is only one day. Unfortunately, we cannot remain in orbit here longer than that."

"Agreed. We thank thee for all that has been done for us by virtue of the presence of the Enterprise here. Fare thee well, James T. Kirk. May the blood of thy enemies flow."

"We thank you for your hospitality, T'Pau. Bones, we'll pick you up tomorrow. Kirk to Enterprise. Two to beam up."

McCoy was silent until the two men disappeared in the swirls of light, then turned and gave a small bow to T'Pau.

"Time is short. Shall we begin?"


	7. Chapter 7

Mister Kyle was trying to hide his nerves, but having both Captain and First Officer waiting in the transporter room for the return of Doctor McCoy was making him jittery. Both were known to lash out at even minor infractions if they weren't in a good mood and Kyle had no idea what sort of mood the two were in currently. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the signal came across.

"McCoy to Enterprise. Two to beam up."

Even knowing who was beaming up with McCoy, it took a moment for it to register with Kirk that it was the same T'Pring from the arena. Her long hair had been shorn until it was now barely longer than Spock's. She was dressed in the plainest Vulcan robe he had ever seen - straight black with absolutely no ornamentation or embroidery and both hands were encased in gloves. From her expression, she clearly would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. Not that anyone present cared about her preference. In fact, she was totally ignored as Kirk moved to greet McCoy.

"About time you got back, Bones. I seem to recall promising you something if you won."

"I suppose I didn't exactly win, Jim. Things ending on a technicality and all that."

Kirk's hand made a dismissive gesture.

"Close enough. I expect you in my quarters in an hour."

"Can we make it two, Jim? I need to have a chat with Nyota first."

Snapping his fingers as if he'd forgotten, Jim clapped McCoy on the shoulder.

"That's right. We need to keep the Bridge relatively blood-free, after all. Head to Sickbay. She'll be there shortly."

As they began to exit the transporter room, T'Pring followed behind them sullenly. Kirk glanced over his shoulder at her, then looked over to McCoy.

"Bones? Are you sure about having your back to her?"

Instead of answering Kirk directly, McCoy spoke to T'Pring without ever turning his head.

"The Captain has a question, T'Pring. Tell him how many allies you have on this ship."

Kirk dropped back so that he could watch her and saw her gloved hands clench as she answered.

"None, Doctor."

"Now, tell the Captain what will happen to the first time if you should you ever touch me in any fashion without my permission."

"You will break each of my fingers one at a time, leave them untended for at least a day and then reset them without any medications before allowing them to heal naturally."

"And the second time?"

"You will remove the ends of each of my fingers down to the first knuckle."

"And should you manage to actually injure or kill me?"

"Your nurses have permission to do whatever they will with me for so long as they are able to keep me alive."

The last answer had Kirk chuckling.

"I trust you did warn her about how very inventive your nursing staff can be?"

"Oh yes. I'm quite proud of my girls."

Turning toward Spock, McCoy's features shifted to a more sober expression.

"I'm pretty sure I can get you back in Nyota's good graces, but I'll have to tell her about some of what went on. I swear I won't tell more than I consider to be absolutely necessary, but she's a genius herself and likely to figure the rest out on her own."

Spock stopped walking, which was immediately followed by Kirk and McCoy stopping as well. Turning, Spock looked McCoy straight in the eye.

"I trust your judgment in this matter . . . Leonard."

The smile that formed on McCoy's face was echoed on Kirk's as the trio started walking again, Spock turning to enter the labs as McCoy went toward Sickbay with T'Pring. Still smiling, Kirk headed for the turbolift to return to the Bridge.

As Kirk stepped through the open door and headed toward the Captain's chair, he gave his orders.

"Lieutenant Uhura - call a replacement for Communications to the Bridge. Once they arrive, report to Doctor McCoy immediately."

The look on Uhura's face was a mix of suspicion and curiosity, but she obeyed orders. She knew as long as she didn't backstab Kirk, she didn't have anything to fear from McCoy or his staff. When she arrived at Sickbay, Chapel just gave her a rare smile and gestured toward the CMO's office.

"The doctor is expecting you. Go right in."

Entering the office, she heard McCoy humming, but his back was to her.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?"

Straightening up from what he was doing, McCoy turned with a smile. Now that Uhura could see past him, she saw a Vulcan woman restrained to a chair. The woman looked vaguely familiar, but Uhura assumed she might have been among the Vulcan refugees who had been aboard the Enterprise for awhile.

"Informal visit, Nyota. Have a seat."

McCoy moved to take a seat himself, choosing one so that his desk wouldn't be between them.

"What's all this about, Leonard?"

"I want to straighten out a little misunderstanding is all, darlin'. I know you speak Vulcan fluently, but how fluent are you in their customs? Such as their marriage rituals?"

There was no question about it from her body language - the combination of the word Vulcan with marriage hit a nerve.

"The Vulcans as a whole are extremely secretive about all of their social rituals. The only thing I know is that they do marry."

"Well, I can provide a little more than that. Vulcans follow a custom that used to be followed with some of the Terran cultures. Parents make marriage contracts for their children. They do it when the tykes are around seven, so obviously there aren't any love matches done that way. They're business arrangements between families."

Her forehead creased into a frown as she thought that over, then she shook her head.

"That can't be right. Spock's father was married to his mother."

"It is right. Spock's mother wasn't Sarek's first wife."

Sitting back and draping one arm over the back of the chair, Uhura studied him again.

"And how would you know something like that?"

"Would you believe I have a friend in high places on Vulcan?"

The laughter from her lips was short-lived, but welcome.

"Oh, Leonard - every time I think I might know you, something like this comes up. However, we've gone off-topic. What little misunderstanding is it that you want to correct?"

"The Vulcan word for the person that is your other half in a marriage contract doesn't have a literal translation into Terran common. Spock picked the wrong word to describe his relationship with old T'Pring here."

As the reason for the recognition hit, Uhura's gaze turned back to the Vulcan woman and wondered what had happened to obviously change her status so radically and so quickly. She continued studying the woman as McCoy keep talking.

"Wife was the wrong word to use because they hadn't been married yet - only contracted for it. I'm being nosey, but tell me, Spock ever promise you anything?"

Uhura's body language eased somewhat and she gave a sigh as she shifted her attention back to the doctor.

"The opposite, really. Spock told me from the beginning that there couldn't be a real future between us. I assumed I knew what the reason was and didn't question it any further."

T'Pring's eyes widened as she listened. If Spock had also broken their contract? She looked to McCoy, who gave her a wolfish grin.

"Not a lot of good that knowledge is going to do you now, girl."

Uhura pursed her lips as she considered and looked over T'Pring again.

"Are she and Spock married now?"

"Nope. That contract is about as thoroughly busted as a contract can be."

"Then why is she here?"

"Long story and most of it isn't mine to tell. Let's just leave it at this - she gambled and lost. I own her and I even have the paperwork to prove it. Or I guess it proves it. Damn contract's in Vulcan. I can speak some, but can't read it."

Uhura extended her hand and McCoy pulled out the scroll and laid it on her waiting palm. Pulling it to her, Uhura unrolled it carefully and slowly translated the script all the way down to the signature block.

"All yours without any conditions and signed by T'Pau? I'm impressed."

Re-rolling the scroll back neatly, Uhura offered it back to McCoy, but grasped his hand after he'd taken it.

"Spock damn near killed you. Why are you defending him to me?"

McCoy didn't bother to try pulling away from her, looking straight at her instead.

"Jim is good. Spock makes him better. You, me, Hikaru, Pavel and Scotty make him better. You know, a hexagon in nature is one of the strongest forms. Think about bees and their honeycombs."

"One problem with that. There are seven of us, Leonard."

"Six of us supporting one central figure, Nyota. Jim can take all of us a long way, but only with the right support system. Spock is part of that. If the six of us can learn to watch each others back while watching Jim's? I sure the hell wouldn't bet against us. Would you?"

Giving his hand a light squeeze before releasing it, Uhura's smile was a sly one.

"No. I wouldn't bet against us. But what about Gaila? What about Pike?"

"Bless her huge green heart, Gaila doesn't have the right kind of hunger to be part of our core group. Doesn't mean she's not an important support, but we both know that she'd be perfectly content with a nice room, decent food and plenty of sex."

Uhura chuckled at that accurate description of her former roommate, but otherwise remained quiet as McCoy continued.

"Pike is part of the outer part of our hive - like the crew is. He and they will benefit from what our core group can do, so it will be worth their while to keep us together. Think, Nyota. Who was called to witness the peace treaty signing? Wasn't Pike. The Klingon Emperor knows me, Jim and Pavel not only by name, but by sight. And hell, I'm pretty damn sure Jim screwed the Romulan princess. And now, we are also leaving Vulcan with some heavy debts to us."

"You're taking an awfully large risk talking to me like this, Leonard."

"Oh, I don't think so. Think again about our hexagon, Nyota. Every single one of us is multi-talented. Every single one of us is at genius level. You could sell us out, sure. But you'd be tossing aside unlimited potential for a pittance. I know you're smarter than that."

"You do know how to flatter a girl, Leonard."

Leaning forward, McCoy did something very few would ever dare. He cupped Uhura's face in his hand.

"Not flattery when it's the truth, lady. I know your worth and so does everyone else in this hunk of tin. So, think you can at least go to a non-hostile status with Spock?"

Running one long nail down the back of McCoy's hand just hard enough to leave a mark, Uhura nodded.

"I won't guarantee much yet, but I will promise you non-violent. Unless something happens to change that. So - what about her?"

"T'Pring? No need to worry about her. I already promised Spock I wouldn't allow her to run around unattended."

"You know what I feel like doing?"

"Not exactly, Nyota - but I could probably make a decent guess."

"May I?"

Withdrawing his hand, McCoy gave Uhura an unconcerned shrug.

"Be my guest."

Rising gracefully, Uhura positioned herself directly in front of T'Pring, studying her again silently for a minute before backhanding her.

"Thank you, Leonard. I feel much better now."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

After a long hard look into McCoy's eyes, Uhura quoted an Imperial Starfleet proverb.

"A strong foe is better than a weak friend."

McCoy's smile took on the edge that made many fear to enter Sickbay.

"Do you think me weak, Nyota?"

There was no hesitation.

"No. Others might be able to take you physically, but only if they took you by surprise. Even then, they'd have their hands full."

"Then that proverb has no application here, does it? But if we're going to drag out sayings, my grandmother was a bit of a rebel - kept some of the books in the family and hidden that the first Emperor banned. Ever hear of Mahatma Gandhi?"

"I think I remember that name from history, but not any details other than his writings had been deemed subversive. Why?"

"He had a saying she was fond of and drilled into me : 'Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.' Give that a minute's thought."

Uhura did as requested and McCoy saw it in her eyes when the implications sank in. She suddenly saw the events since their Academy days not as a series of incidents, but as links in a chain. Kirk had that indomitable will - he expressed it every time he said he didn't believe in problems that didn't have solutions. Every time he faced another variation of the Kobayashi Maru and forged another way through it.

"No wonder the Emperor banned his writings. We can really do this, can't we?"

Moving to her side with a chuckle, McCoy wrapped an arm around her waist as he escorted her out of Sickbay.

"Damn right we can, darlin'. The only thing that can get in our way is us."


	8. Chapter 8

McCoy's escort of Uhura ended at the turbolift that would take her to the Bridge. He had a different appointment to keep and only another ten minutes to go before he would be late for it. Kirk never appreciated being kept waiting.

The door to the Captain's quarters opened practically the second he requested entry. Before he could do much more than step through the door, a familiar pair of green hands had grabbed hold of his right arm and drug him further in. The door hadn't even shut fully before Gaila was fussing and starting to strip him.

"I don't believe you! Jim told me what happened! A fight to the death with a Vulcan? And you claim to be the one around here with common sense?"

Lounging on the bed, Kirk just enjoyed the show as Gaila had McCoy fully stripped in a remarkably short amount of time and began a full body search, detailing every scrape, cut, scratch and bruise. When McCoy caught Kirk's eye, his expression said 'you had to go and tell her before I could make use the dermal regenerator in here?' as plainly as if he'd said it out loud. Kirk's only reaction was to start laughing.

Seeing Kirk wasn't going to be any help, McCoy tried calming the excitable Orion woman down himself.

"I'm fine, Gaila - really. Only tired and a bit sore. Any way, it's all over. No sense thinking about things that might have happened that didn't happen. Important part is that me and Spock are both back."

Backing off only enough to view all of him at once, Gaila gave him a look verging on disbelief. Then she stepped close and took his head in her hands, kissing him firmly before finally releasing him so he could catch his breath.

"I'll be the judge of how fine you are. I want to make sure everything is in working order."

By this point in their relationship, McCoy knew better than to argue. Every time he or Kirk (or both) had what Gaila considered to be a close call, she requested - nay, demanded - a round of energetic intercourse to assure herself that they were all right. Kirk stayed where he was, out of her way.

The pair were right in the middle of her examination when a request for entry came at Kirk's door. Smirking to himself as he noted that neither of them had even noticed, Kirk authorized entry.

Spock had grown accustomed to expect any number of oddities when he visited the Captain in his quarters. However, from the way the Vulcan stopped short as soon as he entered the door, it was quite obvious that Spock hadn't been expecting the sight of Gaila and McCoy _in flagrante delicto_. He made his way around the oblivious pair, noting to himself on the way that he had severely misjudged the doctor's flexibility.

Shifting his position on the bed to make room, Kirk patted the spot beside him and, after a moment of indecision, Spock joined him and sat down. McCoy still hadn't noticed the addition to the room, but Gaila gave Spock a cheerful wave before returning her attention to the business at hand. Kirk's eyes were now mainly on Spock. He had never seen Spock to the point of speechless before.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Spock?"

This was Spock's first encounter with Orion pheromones in a closed space. It took Spock another minute to calm his reaction and avert his gaze from the couple. Looking back at the highly amused Kirk, he was finally able to answer his question.

"I had a question for the doctor."

"So why come here?"

"You ordered him to report to your quarters and I have never known the doctor to go against your orders, therefore this is where I expected him to be."

Kirk chuckled to himself.

"A logical assumption, Spock. Gaila! Give Bones a break - Spock here wants to talk to him."

Huffing, Gaila unwound from McCoy before squirming between Kirk and Spock to drape around Kirk. Spock's obvious distraction made McCoy wonder if the aftereffects of pon farr were still influencing the Vulcan.

"You wanted to speak with me, Spock?"

Centering himself to ignore the activity next to him, Spock turned his focus onto McCoy.

"I was curious regarding your plans for the woman."

"Oh, T'Pring? I plan to make use of her to do some detailed studies of Vulcan anatomy. Beyond that, I don't have any plans for her. You can make use of her whenever you like, of course."

It was very apparent that was not something Spock had expected to hear and McCoy chuckled.

"One? I'm not exactly lacking for sex and two? Even if I were, she's not my type. Attitude reminds me too much of my ex. So you can have her as often and as long as you want. Only two things I ask is that you leave those gloves on her and that any damages are repairable."

After another moment of thought, McCoy amended that.

"Once I finish my anatomy mapping, I won't even care about the damage. I can learn plenty from an autopsy too."

Spock seemed lost for the moment in contemplation and McCoy took the opportunity to pull his pants back on before looking around for where Gaila had tossed his shirt. By the time he had that pulled back on, Spock's eyes were on him again.

"I fail to see what benefit you receive from this arrangement, Doctor."

"Things aren't always about equal transactions, Spock. What I learn from T'Pring might come in handy down the road because I might figure out how to fix something you get broke on one of our missions. Ask Uhura about honeycombs. Speaking of which, she's agreed to keeping interactions between the two of you non-violent. The next step is up to you. In fact, a lot of next steps are up to you."

Finally spotting his boots, McCoy pulled them on while calling out.

"Me and Spock are going to take a walk, Jim. I'll be back in a bit."

Whatever Kirk's answer was from behind Gaila sounded vaguely agreeable, so McCoy chose to take it as permission and led the way out with Spock following close behind. He continued to set a brisk pace, not pausing or stopping to talk until they reached their own little domain - the science labs. All it took was for McCoy to enter and look over the techs as he allowed a dangerous smile to slowly form. The area cleared out in record time. Once the last of the lab technicians was gone, Spock followed McCoy inside, automatically locking the door behind them. McCoy's smile faded into one that was less threatening as he picked a place to sit.

"Tell me, Spock, what was the real reason you hitched yourself to Pike? It was to get on this ship, wasn't it?"

For his part, Spock chose to remain standing for the moment, hands moving to clasp behind his back.

"I believe you are already aware of that fact, Doctor. What is the purpose of this talk?"

"Because it's my belief that you're putting entirely too much thought into some things."

That got the expected raised eyebrow.

"I do not believe it to be possible to give any matter too much thought."

"Well then, you would be wrong. I wouldn't worry about that though. First time for everything or so they say."

"I will not concede to being in the wrong when I do not know the subject matter in question."

"Ah - I need to spell things out then? Fine, fine. You see, I have a pretty good idea of some of the things running circles in that brain of yours."

Both Spock's tone and gaze grew icy at that.

"Truly, Doctor? Then do enlighten me as to what I am thinking."

McCoy laughed at the implied threat as if Spock had made a joke before settling back down, but the smile remained in place.

"Not saying it's all you're thinking about, but one thing is that you aren't so sure about is me learning more about how Vulcans are put together than I already know. And I already know more than you're comfortable with. Which leads to you not liking a human owning a Vulcan gal. Even a Vulcan gal that you gave to me, because I figure that was more a move to insult her than to give me a present. How am I doing so far?"

"I will admit that you have touched on several points that have been in my thoughts. Continue."

"Before I do, one question. You respect T'Pau, don't you? Only one of your Elders that had the nerve to stand up to the Emperor to his face instead of grumbling behind his back."

"I have not kept my admiration for her a secret."

"She knows me. She knows what I do. You think for one second that she didn't know what I plan to do with T'Pring? Yet according to Nyota, her name is the one on the paperwork making me T'Pring's owner. No conditions. I'm taking Nyota's word on that, of course. I know a word here and there, but not enough to translate a legal document."

"Considering her linguistic skills, I am certain that she translated it correctly. What you say is also true which would imply that T'Pau desires you to gain more in-depth knowledge of Vulcans. Does she trust Vulcan healers so little?"

"She does where you're concerned. There aren't as many healers - hell, not as many anything among the Vulcans as there used to be. Even before that whole fiasco at the Arena, T'Pau had heard rumblings about wasting good genetic stock on you. You really think any of them would be all torn up if you didn't survive a medical procedure?"

"I would be lying to myself if I thought that might be the case. Your point?"

"My point? I acknowledge that Jim needs you. I need Jim, therefore it's in my best interest to keep you alive and well. You just have to acknowledge that you need the two of us as much as we do you."

Moving slowly, Spock finally took a seat and steepled his fingers in concentration, fingertips touching the bottom of his goatee. McCoy didn't comment, fidget or show any other sign of impatience as he sat and waited. He didn't have to wait very long before Spock began to speak in slow, measured tones.

"I need James because he is the reason I can maintain my position and rank within the Empire. Even if a Vulcan healer were willing to come onboard, the council of Elders would never allow it due to the shortage, therefore, I need your skills in case of accident, illness or injury. However, it occurs to me in this equation that should anything happen to the Captain, it would eliminate your need for me."

"Consider it extra incentive to keep Jim breathing."

"Indeed."

Another minute was spent in contemplation before Spock spoke again.

"I will not have need for T'Pring's services often. She will eventually attempt to cause disruptions."

"Oh, little doubt. That's one little filly that's far from broken, but hell - I've got a stasis tube or two gathering dust. No reason we can't stick her on a shelf and take her down when she's needed."

"No reason at all."

Spock rose again and moved over to McCoy. For once, he was the one that shocked the doctor into speechlessness by extending his hand. McCoy rose as well before grasping it firmly in return. They shook once before releasing and Spock's hands returned to their position behind his back.

"Perhaps now would be the best opportunity to inform T'Pring of her new status."

Grinning, McCoy clasped his own hands behind his back and moved for the door, waiting for Spock to unlock it.

"Know what the best part of this is going to be, Spock?"

"I cannot even begin to fathom what you would consider that to be, Leonard."

"One day, there might be a situation where one of those Vulcan snobs gets hurt and I'm their best shot at survival. And I'll go ahead and make you this promise. Unless Jim orders otherwise, it will be your call whether I help them or not."

As they began to walk through the corridors side by side, Spock had the odd feeling that even though he was in deep space, for the first time in his life, his feet were on solid ground.


End file.
